The 21-year-old Ottoman leader who planned and executed the conquest.
Constantinople was renamed Istanbul and became the capital of the Ottoman Empire; the Hagia Sophia was converted from a cathedral into a mosque. The Fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans: Con...
A Genoese mercenary who commanded the land defenses until he was mortally wounded. The 21-year-old Ottoman leader who planned and executed
To bypass a massive chain blocking the Golden Horn harbor, Mehmed II famously had his ships hauled over land on greased logs to enter the water behind the city's defenses. The Fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans: Con...
With the Ottomans controlling key land routes to Asia, European powers like Spain and Portugal were forced to seek alternative sea routes, directly initiating the Age of Exploration .